What is Finnish Sign Language?

Information about Finnish Sign Language

Finnish Sign Language (Suomalainen viittomakieli)
Spoken in:Finland
Region:
Total speakers:
Ranking:
Genetic classification:related to Swedish Sign Language
Official status
Official language of:
Regulated by:
Language codes
ISO 639-1
ISO 639-2sgn-FI
SIL
See also: Language – List of languages


Finnish Sign Language is the sign language most commonly used in Finland. There are 5000 (estimate) Finnish Deaf who have Finnish Sign Language as a mother tongue. Linguistically Finnish Sign Language is closest to Swedish Sign Language, from which it began to separate as an independent language in the middle of 19th century.

Finnish legislation recognized Finnish Sign Language as one of Finland's domestic languages in 1995 when it was included in the renewed constitution. Finland then became the third country in the world to recognize sign language as a natural language and the right to use it as a mother tongue.

Courses in "sign language" have been taught in Finland since the 1960s. At that time, instruction taught signs but followed Finnish word order (see Manually Coded Language). Later, as research on sign languages in general and Finnish Sign Language in particular determined that sign languages tend to have a very different grammar to spoken languages, the teaching of Finnish Sign Language and "Signed Finnish" have diverged.

External links

Anthem
Maamme   (Finnish)
Vårt land   (Swedish)
Our Land
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This is a list of languages, ordered by the number of native-language speakers, with some data for second-language use. Languages are listed for secondary locations only when spoken by more than 1% of the population.
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A language family is a group of languages related by descent from a common ancestor, called the proto-language. As with biological families, the evidence of relationship is observable shared characteristics.
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Swedish Sign Language (SSL) is the sign language used in Sweden. There are symantic differences between spoken Swedish and SSL in the way deictic reference to a person is made.[1]

References

1.

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This is a list of bodies that regulate standard languages.

Afrikaans Die Taalkommissie, South Africa
Arabic Academy of the Arabic Language (مجمع اللغة العربية, Syria, Egypt, Jordan,
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ISO 639 is the set of international standards that lists short codes for language names.

ISO 639 consists of different parts, of which two parts have been approved and a third part that is in the final approval (FDIS) stage. The other parts are works in progress.
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Ethnologue: Languages of the World is a web and print publication of SIL International (formerly known as the Summer Institute of Linguistics), a Christian linguistic service organization which studies lesser-known languages primarily to provide the speakers with Bibles in
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See Language (journal) for the linguistics journal.


A language is a system of symbols and the rules used to manipulate them. Language can also refer to the use of such systems as a general phenomenon.
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lists of languages:
  • List of languages by name
  • List of languages by writing system
  • List of languages by number of native speakers
  • Ethnologue list of most spoken languages

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sign language (also signed language) is a language which uses manual communication, body language and lip patterns instead of sound to convey meaning—simultaneously combining hand shapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to
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Anthem
Maamme   (Finnish)
Vårt land   (Swedish)
Our Land
..... Read more.
deaf is used differently in different contexts, and there is some controversy over its meaning and implications. In scientific and medical terms, deafness generally refers to a physical condition characterized by lack of sensitivity to sound.
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Swedish Sign Language (SSL) is the sign language used in Sweden. There are symantic differences between spoken Swedish and SSL in the way deictic reference to a person is made.[1]

References

1.

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Republic of Finland

This article is part of the series:
Politics of Finland


State Government
Constitution
Declaration of Independence
Executive
President (list)
Tarja Halonen

Prime Minister
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Centuries: 19th century - 20th century - 21st century

1930s 1940s 1950s - 1960s - 1970s 1980s 1990s
1960 1961 1962 1963 1964
1965 1966 1967 1968 1969

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Their 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive.
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Manually Coded Languages (MCLs) are representations of spoken languages in a gestural-visual form; that is, "sign language" versions of spoken languages. Unlike the sign languages that have evolved naturally in Deaf communities, which have distinct spatial structures, Manually
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sign language (also signed language) is a language which uses manual communication, body language and lip patterns instead of sound to convey meaning—simultaneously combining hand shapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to
..... Read more.